In 2026, for automobile manufacturers, the greatest edge lies in making no mistakes.

It's hard to tell when it started, but the release of a new car no longer fills people with anticipation.

Often, even before the press conference begins, once the price range is revealed, people can more or less guess the configuration list.

For example, a pure - electric SUV priced over 300,000 yuan will almost certainly come with a large battery around 100 kWh, a dual - motor or even a triple - motor system, and can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in about 4 seconds. The chassis usually adopts a double - wishbone front and five - link rear structure, paired with air suspension and CDC electromagnetic dampers. There will be a lidar on the roof, and a refrigerator, a large TV, and comfortable seats inside the car...

Equipped with a refrigerator, a large TV, and comfortable seats

When these configurations first appeared in 2025, people might have exclaimed "Wow!" But now, after seeing so many of them, they just find it boring.

After the configuration inflation in 2024 and 2025, it's becoming increasingly difficult to distinguish the superiority of mainstream brand models in terms of hardware at the same price range.

Car manufacturers seem a bit lost. Some of them try to pile on more configurations. The air suspension evolves from dual - chamber to triple - chamber, the 0 - 100 km/h acceleration time shortens from 4 seconds to 3 seconds, the lidar's line count increases from 120 to 500, and there are endless new, carefully - packaged terms.

The number of lidars increases from 1 to 5

However, an awkward fact is that users can hardly perceive these differences, and they are not very interested either.

What truly brings a leap in experience are those seemingly "traditional" indicators. For example, in the field of pure - electric range, there are now extended - range vehicles with larger battery capacities than Tesla's models a few years ago.

Technologies that can truly reshape the industry's competitive logic, such as solid - state batteries and L3 - level autonomous driving, may not be truly implemented until after 2027.

From "Innovative Products" to "Mass - Market Consumer Goods"

Why doesn't "piling on materials" work anymore? Because the people sitting across the table to buy cars have changed.

There is a well - known theory in marketing called the "Technology Adoption Lifecycle" - the popularization of any innovative product goes through several stages: from "innovators" who love to try new things, to "early adopters" with forward - looking visions, and then to the pragmatic "late majority".

In the new - energy vehicle market in 2026, it's already the era of the "late majority".

If previous users (innovators + early adopters + early majority) were willing to tolerate occasional glitches in the car's infotainment system for the advanced lidar or overlook the inconvenience of after - sales service for extreme acceleration, the current late majority are a completely different group of consumers.

They have distinct and "difficult - to - please" characteristics. They are not interested in technical parameters and extremely averse to risks. Their purchasing decisions highly depend on others' recommendations and the brand's endorsement. They don't want a "cool" car; they just want a "right" car.

Changes in data confirm this trend.

The latest NPS research data released by Jielanlu shows that in recent years, the logic behind users' recommendations or discouragements of a car has undergone a fundamental reconstruction.

Two years ago, a tech - savvy user might have enthusiastically recommended a car to those around just because "the voice assistant in this car is well - done".

But now, when users express their willingness to recommend a car, the number of reasons they list has significantly increased.

They no longer make judgments based on a single factor but start to comprehensively consider product experience, service performance, external reputation, and price management.

"Good intelligence" is no longer sufficient to support a purchase recommendation. Now, users' recommendation logic has become more comprehensive and demanding: Product experience is the foundation, after - sales service must be in place, external reputation should be spotless, and more importantly, price management should be proper.

Changes in "reasons for recommendation" in recent years shown in the Jielanlu report

Since 2023, "whether the brand will backstab users" has consistently ranked first among users' concerns when recommending a car.

Zeekr might be the new - energy vehicle brand that has suffered the most and felt the most pain in "price management".

Zeekr 001, which emerged in 2021, took a different approach when most domestic new - energy vehicles in the same price range were competing in the luxury SUV segment. It played a differentiating card by emphasizing "performance, chassis, and handling". Its unique shooting - brake coupe design successfully attracted a group of young users who pursue individuality and driving pleasure.

However, after five years, the monthly sales of Zeekr 001 have dropped from a stable over 10,000 units at its peak to around 3,000 units now. Even though the latest version of the 001 is almost fully equipped with all the top - level hardware available today, including high - level intelligent driving chips, dual - chamber air suspension, and an 800V high - voltage platform, the market response remains cold.

The historical move of "launching three upgraded versions in a year" seriously depleted users' trust.

Even though the executives repeatedly emphasized at the press conference that "there are no plans for a facelift this year", the comment sections on major social media platforms are still filled with voices of "I don't believe it" and "Let's wait and see".

Zeekr officially stated that there are no facelift plans for the 001 in 2026

Once trust is broken, it's very difficult to rebuild.

Today's consumers don't need you to teach them what an Orin - X chip is. They are more concerned about: Will the car I buy depreciate? How far is the after - sales service center? Will the resale value of the used car collapse?

This explains why there is a phenomenon of "never losing in parameters but never winning in sales".

The decline of HiPhi is a very representative negative example.

In terms of the strengths of models like HiPhi X and HiPhi Z, they almost reached the technological ceiling at that time. The gull - wing doors and ISD intelligent interactive lighting system were cool and good - looking, and the chassis and handling performance were highly praised in media reviews.

HiPhi's gull - wing doors

However, when HiPhi tried to use these "tech - savvy" hardcore configurations to attract a wider range of users in the 500,000 - 800,000 - yuan price range, it was met with a cold shoulder from the market.

In the eyes of these customers, the NT gull - wing doors seem more like a hidden danger of "high repair costs and difficult opening"; the complex lighting system is just a flashy gimmick.

What's more fatal is that the subsequent news of "tight capital chain" and "obstacles in financing" further magnified consumers' distrust.

HiPhi tried to use the hardware parameters that "early majority" users like to impress the "late majority", who highly value comprehensive experience and brand influence. As a result, there was a mismatch.

In contrast, Leapmotor provides a more inspiring positive example.

Leapmotor's first car, the S01, was a two - door intelligent pure - electric coupe. Limited by its controversial appearance and a small niche market, it almost failed as soon as it was launched, causing Leapmotor to lose 900 million yuan in its first year.

Leapmotor S01

However, the founder, Zhu Jiangming, adjusted very quickly. After this setback, Leapmotor quickly shifted to the mainstream family - use car market. Starting from the T03, it firmly focused on the positioning of "affordable and delicate" family cars and continuously invested in "full - domain self - research" to strengthen its technological foundation.

Subsequently, with the C11, C10, and C16, step by step, the product matrix became clear, the pricing was practical, and the experience was reliable. Eventually, Leapmotor became the sales champion among new - energy vehicle brands in 2025.

Leapmotor C11

So, in the competition in 2026, it's no longer about who has the longest strength but who has the fewest weaknesses. It has changed from "solving a single technical pain point" to "reducing multi - dimensional uncertainties".

"Trust Agent"

When this group of consumers is dazzled by the complex parameter tables, they urgently need a simplified decision - making basis - the brand.

For the late majority, the brand is a "foolproof" filter and a credit endorsement for a package solution of products, technologies, and channels.

The recent ups and downs of Xiaomi Auto are all due to this power.

A survey shows that when the SU7 was first launched, if the "Xiaomi" brand was removed, 67% of the users who had placed orders said they would not buy it, and 80% of them considered themselves Xiaomi fans.

What they are buying is not just a car but a whole set of promises carried by the name "Xiaomi": decent design, reliable ecosystem, after - sales service that won't disappear, and the social status of driving a Xiaomi car.

This trust even extends to the yet - to - be - unveiled new cars. Just one hour after the release of the YU7, the number of large - amount pre - orders exceeded 289,000, largely thanks to the good reputation the SU7 has accumulated in the market.

However, Xiaomi's improper handling in the hood design, responses to several safety accidents, and the recent KOL marketing campaign directly shook the foundation of consumers' trust, followed by a flood of doubts.

Xiaomi's response to the recent turmoil

Maybe we can take an example from outside the automotive industry.

Friends who follow the music industry have felt in recent years that the Phoenix Legend group has become more and more popular. Not only are their concert tickets hard to get, but their status also seems to be rising.

You know, this mainland music group, established in 1998, was once considered the exclusive music for square - dance.

But now, who doesn't order a song like "Lady of Shexiang" when in KTV?

The post - 90s generation, who once looked down on the Phoenix Legend the most, have become their most loyal supporters.

The success of the Phoenix Legend is hard to replicate, but its logic can be learned from: years of stable high - quality output, resilience in the face of